


A Matter of Diplomacy

by ScarletTengu



Category: SecuriTale, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (But nothing else here's cliche. Nope. NEVER!), Ambassador Frisk, But just a little... Like if you blink you'll miss it..., Cliche free fic!, F/M, False advertising galore!, Fancy Political Events, Fourth Wall Breaking, Hopefully some feels, No dancing though cause that's just TOO cliche, Sans' POV, Some laughs, post pacifist run, too much fluff!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-07-29 14:38:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7688287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletTengu/pseuds/ScarletTengu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ambassador Dreemuur had originally held high hopes for the party she had been invited to attend. It could have been a perfect opportunity to pitch some of her ideas for integrating the monster race into society better. Unfortunately the party had been more social than political, and no one seemed that interested in the kind of conversation she was used to providing. What some of the people did want from her instead was beyond her. Frisk was quite confident in her knowledge of diplomatic relations, and knew her statements and stances on monster rights quite well. But when it came to matters of the heart it seemed her inexperience was quite laughable. Still, she was not one to shrink away from a challenge, and if understanding such things could make her a more effective ambassador, she was determined to learn everything she could. And soon. Perhaps if she was able to find Sans he'd be willing to explain it all to her.<br/>Based on tekitourabbit's wonderful Undertale comic, SecuriTale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Matter of Diplomacy

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [SecuriTale](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/219337) by tekitourabbit. 



> Hey all! Tengu here. I'm not new to Fanfics, but I am new to Undertale and this site, so bear with me as I figure this all out. (Tags seem fun!) I've been working on a bigger Undertale story of my own, but before I could finish the first part of that, I got inspired to write this little piece based off of tekitourabbit's SecuriTale comic that's posted on Deviant Art. My story here kind of works on its own, so you don't need to read SecuriTale to follow it, but you should read SecuriTale, because it's really awesome, and I love where it seems to be going! The art is beautiful, and the story is great so go do it! Anyway, for this story in particular the premise is basically that after everyone escaped the Underground following a True Pacifist run, Frisk became the Ambassador for the monster race and has been working hard to promote their inclusion into human society. This has been met with some resistance though, and Sans and Papyrus ended up working as a Frisks' security detail in order to keep her safe. That's pretty much enough to get you up to speed! ;-) This particular piece takes place a bit further down the line from where I believe tekitourabbit's story currently is, and I'm pretty sure the more SecuriTale updates, the less consistent this will be with it, but oh well. It's still a fun little divergent.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little story, and if all goes well there should be more from me soon! 
> 
> Written from San's POV because... Why not? It's better that way.

I could tell she wasn't getting anywhere she wanted with the Zidorian Diplomat. This was most likely due to the fact he wasn't getting anywhere he wanted with her. Their mutual frustration with the conversation was palpable to everyone in the room. Well, maybe not to everyone, but certainly to me. Ambassador Dreemuur was as usual oblivious to what certain men truly wanted from her. It took all the strength I could muster not to go over there and steer her away from the creep. The only thing holding me back was the fact that I knew she wanted to be independent and stand on her own, and I was doing my best to give her the space to practice doing that. Besides, it wasn't the need to protect her safety that made me uncomfortable. She was perfectly safe for the time being (the security provided by the palace _was_ top notch). I was just jealous. However, when he reached up and touched her bare shoulder, fingers trailing down her arm suggestively as he leaned closer to her I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep away much longer. Fortunately for all of us she chose that moment to take her leave. She brushed his hand away and bowed brusquely, spinning on her high heels and walking away with her head held high. I smiled widely feeling very proud of her in that moment, but the grin faltered as my gaze panned out to take in all the eyes that were also watching her movements. They certainly weren't admiring her determination and unflappable dignity as I was. No, they were admiring the sway of her hips, and the curve of her legs and waist, accentuated by that stupid little dress and the ridiculous shoes Mettaton had helped her pick out. Admittedly I'd been admiring her in that way as well, but at least I saw more than that. I saw her heart and soul and kindness in addition to her beauty and it was for all those reasons I cherished her and loved her. Unfortunately, she and that dress and this whole blasted evening were doing a number on my resolve and my nerves.

"i'm gonna have to kill mettaton later," I resolved. I _hated_ it when he helped her pick out clothes. It never ended well for me. The magenta, fashion obsessed robot had a nasty talent for pushing her tastes beyond what she typically considered appropriate attire. The royal blue sleeveless, cocktail dress he'd somehow managed to talk her into this time was nothing like the dresses she normally picked out for herself. The dresses she preferred, with their flowing skirts and ornamented waistlines and sleeves, were perfectly lovely on her and did an excellent job of covering up things better left to the imagination. But _this_ awful Mettaton dress was low cut, short, tight, and the exact same shade of blue as her eyes. I mean of course she looked fan- _friskin_ -tastic in it, but that didn't mean I had to like it. It was making it very difficult for me to focus on my real job which was to keep her _safe_ , not obsess constantly about what she was wearing and how much I wanted to be with her. Honestly we'd been at the party for less than an hour and I already couldn't wait for it to be over. There was too little diplomatic business being conducted anyway, and far too much flirting involved for my tastes.

The party, a coming of age ball thrown for the princess of Drake, was a little bit different than the events she was used to attending. Frisk got invited to plenty of fundraisers and was a regular fixture at various political functions, but this was more of a social event with a varied, select crowd. Which meant no security teams consequently. The palace had safety pretty well covered. The only reason I was even there was because she'd asked me to come as her plus one. (I was still trying not to read too much into the fact that she'd asked me to go with her instead of Papyrus or her ~~insufferable~~ good friend Prince Julius.) Frisk was royalty in her own right, being the adopted daughter of the monster King and Queen, and though it wasn't a title she'd ever felt comfortable with, it did make her presence at the ball perfectly acceptable. She was also a bit of an adventurous hero, especially to the younger generations, who admired her bravery and loved hearing the tales of how she'd escaped the Underground and freed the monsters from their imprisonment there. The Princess of Drake was one such admirer, and since her father, the king, already knew Frisk from past negotiations, an invitation was sent to her with sincere wishes for her positive response. Frisk had been nothing but flattered by the invitation for a full three minutes. "It was such an honor," she'd said, and "it was good form of the king to include me, as it gives such a boost of credibility and recognition to our cause!" Then her political instincts kicked in and she began plotting how best to capitalize on the opportunity. She would after all have access to a new set of influential world leaders that she normally didn't get the chance to meet or address. Unfortunately she wasn't prepared for the fact that not all of the people in attendance were as serious about their influence and power as she was. The event was after all social rather than political, and catered to a much younger crowd. People weren't expecting to talk shop at such a party. Which was a real shame, because Frisk had held high hopes for the evening. She'd worked so hard in preparation, memorizing names of different influential people, trying to learn their stances on monsters integrating into society, and identifying the needs their respective countries may have that could be addressed by the special abilities of monsters. It just wasn't the time or place, and these people didn't seem all that well acquainted with her plight. It wasn't going well, and I knew she must be disappointed all her effort and research had been for nothing.

I watched as she wandered around a bit, looking somewhat out of place and sensed some of her resolve slipping. When she turned and made her way towards the refreshment table to pick up a glass of water, I sighed. She wasn't used to speaking out loud so much, and it had to be frustrating how it was all being done in vain. "rough deal, kid," I whispered feeling genuinely sorry for her lack of progress. After downing her glass of water I watched as she turned, her eyes scanning the room. I could feel the pleasant thrum of anticipation building as her beautiful blue eyes came closer to meeting my own. When they ultimately did, my heart stopped momentarily as it was want to do whenever she really looked at me. To my delight I found her scanning hadn't skipped over me. Instead her gaze held my own as she smiled a tired smile and started walking towards me.

I quickly attempted to bring my elation in check and steady my pulse, hoping to play it cool and not make a complete idiot of myself fawning all over her. After all, I'd already done plenty of that earlier in the evening when I'd first seen her looking like that. I shook my head, trying not to blush as I thought about it. I guess the mental preparation helped, because when she made it to my side I managed to not blurt out how stunning she looked. "sup kiddo," I said instead. "having fun?"

She huffed out an adorable puff of air before signing rapidly, almost too fast for me to read. "No one here takes me seriously! They keep steering the conversation away from the issues I want to discuss. And why do people keep looking at me like that?" she asked glancing around her nervously. "I must not be dressed right. Mettaton assured me this is exactly the type of dress to wear to this kind of event but I feel so out of place. I must look perfectly ridiculous." An un-permitted laugh escaped me that did not go unnoticed by her, and her rant trailed off as she instead switched over to inquiring in a slightly irritated fashion what I found so funny about the situation.

“it’s nothing kid,” I said dismissively. “just that… you don’t look ridiculous. far from it in fact.”

Her eyebrows knitted together, perplexed by my meaning. She was observant, witty, and clever about most things, but when it came to the concept of attraction, or emotions, human or monster-kind alike she was completely clueless.

“Then why are they staring at me?” she signed, looking around the room again self-consciously, rubbing her bare arms in discomfort. There was something in her hunched form and her displeased expression that made her look so vulnerable. It took all of the amusement at her predicament out of me and I found myself feeling a bit sick to my stomach thinking I might have played a part in the discomfort she was now feeling.

“don’t worry about it,” I said, sheltering her by putting an arm around her and leading her towards the balcony. “how bout some fresh air? you look like you could use it.”

She gave a small smile and nodded, as we made our way outside. The night was a bit cool, but it was refreshing after being cooped up in the stuffy room with the stuffy aristocrats for so long. Still, the sudden change in temperature made her shiver, and I quickly removed my jacket to give to her. She took it and placed it around her shoulders, flashing me a brilliant smile in gratitude, causing my heart to stop all over again. At least she was more covered up now. That would make being around her a bit easier. I couldn't help noticing my jacket was actually longer on her than her dress. Mettaton was seriously in for a bad time later. I was starting to suspect that he was in cahoots with Undyne and Alphys and the three of them were doing this on purpose just to torture me.

“so… uh, i take it your talk with the zidorian _dicklomat_ didn’t go so well,” I said trying to lighten the mood.

She glared at me sternly, but I could see that she was fighting to keep the corners of her lips from twitching upwards. “Sans!” she signed with an admonishing shake of her head. “You know that’s very unprofessional of you!”

I shrugged. “hey, at least it’s not untrue.”

She rolled her eyes away from me and looked out across the palace grounds, leaning against the railing of the balcony. Ultimately she turned back to sign again, her contemplative gaze still flickering back at times to the skyline. “He did seem eager to speak with me. At first. I thought he was amenable to the possibility of opening up his borders and making monster visas more accessible, but… I think he was ashamed to be seen speaking to me. He kept insisting we go discuss it somewhere more private.”

I began to tense up considerably, reading her words. I could feel the blue flames of magic igniting and licking up my arms, and back, but with a practiced effort I extinguished the impulses and turned my attention back to her signs.

“…I had to tell him I didn’t think his hotel suite was a very practical place to meet since it was far away and there were still quite a few people I wished to speak to tonight, but he didn’t really want to consider other options. He must have been interested in the ideas but too embarrassed to be seen with me,” she sighed. “I ultimately just had to walk away and cut my losses. I was hoping to make better arrangements but if he doesn’t even want to be seen discussing it with me I can’t imagine our reception in his country would go very smoothly.”

I frowned deeper. She was still so oblivious about things. If I wasn't careful, it was going to get her into trouble someday. “diplomat kander's still pretty young," I said contemplatively. From what I'd heard some ladies gossiping about in hushed whispers, he was apparently quite the eligible handsome bachelor as well, although I wasn't about to share that bit of information with Frisk. I considered myself lucky he’d approached her in a manner she found so unpalatable, otherwise I might have had even more competition. Not that I really thought I had much of a chance with her anyway. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “anyway, I just mean… he’s a bit inexperienced still.” I smirked as the thought took a different direction than I originally intended it to. “he doesn't know how to treat a pretty lady like yourself right and win you over. you should take pity on the poor guy. probably had him all tongue tied and flabbergasted, overwhelmed by all your big words and fancy ideas,” I teased with a silly grin. Unfortunately she did not look amused.

“Not this again, Sans,” she pouted, signing her disappointment before turning completely away from me.

“what?” I asked, genuinely confused.

She sighed again, not wanting to look at me and opened her mouth hesitantly, testing the air in her lungs before vocalizing her complaint. “You're implying something that I don't quite get. It's so annoying. You all do it! Treating me like I'm still just a kid, hinting at things right in front of me and mocking my ignorance.” Her small hands balled into fists as she spun around to face me, the passion and fury in her eyes an appealing sight to behold, although I knew it wasn’t the right time to be thinking like that. “How am I supposed to learn about these things and be an effective ambassador if everyone insists on keeping me in the dark?”

I opened my mouth and shut it again, considering my words carefully before I responded. It was quite possible I was the worst candidate of all to have this discussion with her. “it’s not exactly a matter of diplomacy, kid,” I attempted to deflect.

“I am not a kid!” she insisted fiercely, stomping her foot like she’d always done as a child, an action that she failed to realize contradicted her statement. I tried very hard not to laugh, and almost succeeded until she put her hands on her hips and glared at me, whining at my expression, “Saaaanssss!”

“i’m sorry!” I breathed through my laughter. “i’m sorry, you’re right. i’ll be serious. cross my heart, and hope to die,” I chanted childishly.

“Saaans!” she half whined, half growled again.

“what? would you rather pinky swear?” I shrugged with a playful grin.

She pursed her lips and shoved me lightly in warning. “I’m serious,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“alright! no need to be _pushy_ ,” I said, letting my laughter die down. “aw shucks ki-uh frisk. you sure you don’t wanna talk about this with someone else? like your mom? Or alphys?”

She looked confused again. “What’s wrong with discussing it with you?” she asked, switching back to signs. I instantly missed the lilting melodic tones of her high voice but didn’t protest. “Is it somehow inappropriate?”

“heh,” I coughed. “yeah it’s quite possible your mom and dad might kill me for discussing this with you,” I muttered under my breath.

It wasn’t quiet enough for her to miss though, and she immediately shook her head in determination. “Well that’s just ridiculous,” she signed. “I’m an adult now. I’ve moved out of their place, I’ve met the equivalent requirements to obtain a high school degree, I go all over to different countries negotiating peace treaties and discussing rights and despite the disappointing results I’ve fared from this night I know perfectly well that I am good at my job and work very hard so I can be effective. Yet despite all this, everyone continues to patronize me, and shield me from... From... I don't even know what,” she finished while throwing her hands up in the air, her face red with her indignation.

“so you want me to treat you like an adult, huh?” I asked in a low voice. Her agitation stilled at my tone. Something about the question had changed the atmosphere between us once again, and from the way she looked at me, almost nervously, I could tell she sensed it as well. Regardless, she nodded almost solemnly. “okay then,” I sighed, my hand going to rub the back of my skull reassuringly. Given free reign there were plenty of things I would've gladly discussed, but I knew what topic was currently pressing on her mind. “diplomat kander was… flirting with you, frisk,” I breathed out in annoyance.

Her expressions went through a succession of surprise, confusion, disbelief, contemplation and then much to my amusement settled ultimately on disgust. “That doesn’t seem very professional during a business discussion,” she signed hesitantly, trying to acclimate the new bit of information into her experiences.

“yeah well i’m afraid he wasn’t exactly interested in discussing business with you,” I grumbled.

She adamantly shook her head. “No, he said he was very interested in speaking with me! Why else would he spend all that time with me if it wasn’t to discuss business?”

I leveled her with a glance. “really frisk? ya that naïve?”

She glared and began to sign her annoyance with me and how I was mistaken but I rolled my eyes and quickly cut her off. “he wasn’t interested in making a business deal with you frisk, he just wanted to talk with _you_. well… not just… it wasn’t talking he had in mind when he invited you back to his room, you know,” I spat out irritably.

Her protesting hands stilled, and she shivered slightly, her mouth drawing into an astonished ‘O.' I watched as her mind churned. My gaze softened and my eyes were instantly drawn to her lips like a magnet as she began to nibble on them softly in consideration. But I snapped back to attention fast as her hands began signing out a question.

“So he loves me then?”

“what?!? no!” I shouted adamantly, angry at myself that my explanation hadn’t been thorough enough to keep her from somehow reaching that conclusion.

She was even more confused now. “But… Mom said _that's_ something you only do with people you love?”

“ideally, yes but… not… always,” I gritted through clenched teeth, my head falling into my hands. It wasn’t very pleasant thinking about slimy men wanting those kinds of things from _my_ girl. And despite all her protests that she wasn’t a kid, she knew very little about how guys sometimes reacted to her. She'd fallen before she'd really reached adolescence and instead of growing up with humans, she'd been raised by a bunch of monsters. Though we all meant well, we were sadly misinformed about human ways and culture and treated Frisk a bit too much like an amusing pet than a girl slowly maturing into an adult. No one ever really took the time to explain to her how romantic relationships progressed among her own people. She got most of her ideas about relationships from cheesy fluff animes and dating sims (which she was _really_ bad at playing). Clearly those sources weren't going to paint a very realistic picture for her. It also made it easy for someone to take advantage of her. Simply imagining the possibility of someone hurting her in that way sent violent magic coursing up and down my spine. She must have noticed this because she immediately placed a small hand upon my shoulder, attempting to soothe, and calm me, in the way that only she could do.

“I’m sorry this troubles you so, my dear,” she signed with her free hand. I shivered slightly at her touch and the use of her endearment for me, wishing as I had many times before that it meant to her what I wanted it to. “It wasn’t my intention to upset you. Please, tell me what I did?”

“you didn't do nothin' wrong. it’s just that none of us wants to see you getting hurt. and i’m fairly certain what he had in mind would have hurt you if you’d gone along with it. maybe not physically but…” I trailed off, my hands grasping hers and folding them over her chest, taping on the back of them so she understood better. “here,” I explained softly.

She nodded slowly. “Because he doesn’t care about me,” she signed. “Not like mom and dad do, right?”

“well, no definitely not like that…”

“He doesn’t… Love me. Not like Papyrus and you do,” she finished.

I blushed and jerked violently backwards, turning and rubbing the back of my skull nervously. “w-well… you’re not wrong. he couldn’t possibly love you the way i do,” I admitted quietly, knowing she wouldn’t understand the significance anyway.

Sure enough she’d missed it. Her mind still working out all the details going in no doubt dangerous directions. “But why did he want to do those things with me when he doesn’t love me, but the people like you that do love me don’t want those things?”

Warning alarms blared noisily in my head. “uh...” Rational thought had threatened to disappear completely. “l-look frisk, maybe you _should_ discuss this with someone else…”

“No!” her hands slashed through the air fiercely. “Don’t brush me off! That’s all anyone ever does. Please Sans, if you won’t tell me who will? You’ve been very helpful so far!"

“ugh,” I groaned, my hands scrubbing at my face. “look… uh… you know how there’s different kinds of love, right?”

She tensed slightly. “You mean with the LV?” she asked.

“no! not l-v! l-o-v-e, the regular kind. like i mean… you don’t love your parents the same way you love your friends, right?”

“No, of course not!” she answered.

“there ya go. and… well, if there was… s-someone that you felt… different around, someone that you thought was pretty or er handsome i guess. someone that made you feel a bit funny or shy but in a good way, and you always wanted to be with them... i mean you know, that would be the type of person you’d want to like… hold hands with or k-kiss and be intimate with or whatever.”

“Intimate… Like the hotel?”

“i mean hopefully not like with the hotel right away but…” I mumbled.

“So then I make Diplomat Kander feel funny? He thinks I’m… Handsome maybe?”

Another sigh that sounded a bit more like a growl. “maybe less with the funny and more with the handsome. or in your case… he finds you very beautiful. the point is though, it's better if you only do that stuff with people that really do love you. and it's pretty clear that kander doesn't," I ground out bitterly. "he's just having his better judgement overclouded by lust because he's so attracted to you,” I grumbled, hoping she wouldn't ask me to further expound upon the concept of lust.

“Why would he be so attracted to me?” she asked instead, for some reason genuinely confused by the notion.

“seriously?” I groaned. “because frisk… it’s just… you’re beautiful, okay? always have been. especially tonight cause that dress does look very nice on you… and… and people weren’t staring at you because you looked funny, but because you look so... so... incredible," I stuttered lamely, avoiding her gaze in the process. However, in the silence that followed, I was eventually forced to look at her again, only to find that she was staring at me with a soft look of wonderment, her cheeks flushed slightly. I didn't think there could be a more breathtaking sight until she smiled brightly up at me.

“Thank you Sans,” she signed carefully. “I… Do understand the difference, you know. Between attraction and... Well, I'm pretty sure I know that feeling you’re talking about with there being someone... Different, and special. And also…” she trailed off reaching up instead and standing on her tiptoes to give me a brief kiss on the cheek. “You’re very sweet,” she signed out, her eyes downcast, and her blush spreading further across her skin.

My breath caught slightly at the sight. “frisk…” I groaned. “you’re killing me here.”

“What do you mean?” she started to sign in concern, but I stopped her by abruptly taking her into my arms and holding her against me. She squeaked slightly in surprise but didn’t exactly protest. It wasn’t the first time I’d held her like this, although the atmosphere for me was infinitely different.

However, our attention was drawn away by laughter filtering through the doorway of the not so distant ballroom, reminding me that we weren’t entirely alone.

After scanning the balcony, I swiftly moved forward, stepping her backwards until we’d fallen into the shadows and her back was pressed against the wall. “Sans? What are you…?” she began to sign frantically.

“are you sure you understand frisk? all of it? cause you said it yourself, right? ‘treat me like an adult, sans. don’t keep things from me anymore.’ did you really mean all that? because you’re making it really hard for me to hold back right now.”

She was tapping at my shoulder nervously, signing out something with her hands but I couldn’t be bothered to read it, still staring intensely into her face, which was the most adorable shade of crimson. Her beautiful blue eyes were wide and frantic, and she almost appeared frightened, a fact that should have probably caused me to pull back, but in that moment I was more afraid of stopping than anything else. We’d come so far in the conversation already. This wasn't something she was usually willing to talk about. Who knew how long it would be before it came up again. And I’d already been waiting so long. Did she love _me_? Yes or no, I had to know now. I couldn’t wait any longer.

"who is it you have a crush on exactly?" I asked directly. Her mouth fell open at the question and she looked away, her hands trembling slightly as she dismissed the question as something that wasn't any of my business. "hmm. is it possible it's me then? you did ask me to be your date tonight," I teased.

Irritation and indignation crept back into her expression, and she dared to look at me again. "I never implied it was a date," she insisted. "I asked you because you're my friend, and I felt more comfortable knowing you could look out for me."

"yeah, but same could be said on both accounts for paps, and yet you still asked me." She looked away again, refusing to answer, clearly wishing for the end of the conversation. I figured I probably should stop teasing her... But instead, I found myself whispering in a low voice, “if you're interested, i could show you, ya know. what diplomat kander wanted from you, that is.”

Her eyes snapped back to mine in astonishment and she began signing again frantically, but I quickly stilled her by interlacing my fingers with her own as I shook my head. “nope. no signs frisk. he wouldn't have understood them after all. if you want me to stop you’re going to have to say it with your own voice, while you still can.”

She’d flattened herself completely against the wall, trying to get as much space as possible, and her breathing had picked up. I was trying my best to ignore all of those signs, focusing instead on what she’d said earlier, about how she’d wanted to know these things, and reasoning that for all the times I’d told her I loved her she hadn’t really understood what I meant. Maybe this would be the only way to clarify for her the difference between love and friendship.

The seconds ticked by as I tried to decide whether to keep going or not, and through it all she said nothing. I’d been staring at her lips the whole time, both considering kissing her and waiting for her to speak, but finally risked looking up into her eyes, not sure if I was searching for a reason to stop or a reason to lean in the rest of the way. She mercilessly gave me nothing. She looked nervous, almost scared, but when I reached up to touch her check she didn't cringe away from me, watching me closely instead with a look of curious fascination and possibly a trace of that infamous determination of hers. It was the same kind of determination she reserved for facing down the most challenging of foes head on. I wasn't entirely sure that was the reaction I'd been hoping for.

Honestly my insides were screaming at me to back away and play the whole thing off as a demonstration and a prank. But I was so afraid that if I did I'd never be able to find my way back to this place with her again. The fear that it was now or never was just too compelling to ignore. "last chance sweetheart," I whispered, my fingers uncurling against her cheek and sliding up into her hair. "yes or no? do you really want to know?"

She gave me no words but her eyes drooping shut seemed as good a sign as any and so I finally leaned forward to kiss her...

"N-- Wait. I-I um..." She'd panicked. Of course she had. And at the very last second too. She was simultaneously pushing me back with her hands and attempting to slide out from between the wall and me. I withdrew from her rapidly to give her space, feeling instantly hollow and as if all the air had been stolen from my nonexistent lungs.

"sorry," I managed to say looking down and away from her. "i uh, guess i took it a little too far. but hey at least you handled the whole rejection part well enough. guess I got nothing to worry about there with you and those nasty politicians..." I rambled awkwardly, only half aware of the nonsense that came out of my mouth.

"Stop it!" She yelled finally, and when I looked at her I could see that tears had started welling up in her eyes. Great. I'd made her cry. As if I didn't already feel like the lowest scum in the Underground.

"Why would you do that?" She asked pitifully. "You said... You said it yourself that ideally it was something to do with someone you love. And so it should be special and not some prank or some stupid test!"

I gaped slightly realizing I'd worked myself into a lose/lose situation. That wasn't how I'd meant it, though I could certainly see how she'd gotten that idea. I considered that it might be better if she thought I had just been messing with her. “you’re right. i’m sorry. i… shouldn't have done that. won’t happen again,” I said unhappily.

She wasn’t paying much attention to me though, still busy yelling at me. “You can’t keep teasing me like that! It’s not fair! I’m already so confused.”

“what do you got to be confused about kiddo? you know I’m just joking around like i always do,” I lied, trying to say anything to diffuse the situation that was growing more complicated with every second.

“Do I? Are you? I don’t… I don't understand you at all! Why do you always tease me like that? It's one thing to laugh at me because you think I'm too naive, but to play with my feelings like that? You just... It's not fair! Why did you have to do that? Why can't you take this seriously? Why try and kiss me if it doesn't actually mean anything to you?"

"doesn't mean anything? are you kidding me?" The accusation had stung a lot more than I expected. How could she possibly think it didn't mean anything to me? It's not like I'd been particularly good at hiding my affection for her over the past years. Forget playing it off. I was tired of her not understanding. "geez frisk, don't you get it? i'd take any excuse or any opportunity to kiss you. and it's not because i think it's funny, and it's not because i'm trying to mess with you. it's because _i love you_ frisk. and if you're going to kiss _anyone_ it should be me, because you're going to have a hard time finding someone that would take it as _seriously_ as me, and I can guarantee it would _mean_ quite a bit more to me than it would to someone else."

And there it was. I'd said it clearly. It wasn't the most romantic declaration, and I certainly could've been a bit more patient and gentle about how I'd laid it out there but at least she understood now, right?

But she didn't even look the slightest bit surprised or flustered. She looked calmer than she had moments before, my words at least effectively draining the agitation from her. "I love you too," she eventually said in a small voice.

And I groaned in response, because no, clearly she did not understand me. "frisk, no. not like that. not as a friend. i _love_ you. i'm in love with you. i..."

"Sans," she said, cutting me off. "I-I know what you mean. Because... You're different to me. And you're handsome. And you make me feel funny and act stupid. I mean just look at me tonight with all these stupid questions. I don't know why I pushed the conversation this far. And I... I asked you to come with me tonight because... I want to be here with you. I always want to be with you. And I..." she stepped forward, and took my hand between her own as a faint blush finally crept onto her checks. "I want to hold your hand. And I wanted you to kiss me. But... Only if it means something to you too," she finished, her eyes raising to meet mine questioningly.

"it would mean everything, sweetheart," I somehow managed to breathe out, despite the fact that my mind had shut down somewhere during the course of her admission. I had a difficult time believing she'd truly meant it at all. But as I reached up my free hand to cup her check, she actually smiled contentedly as she leaned into my touch. 

"Well then," she finally said, her smile sinking into a frown as she pushed away from me, the spellbound moment instantly evaporating. "Next time don't screw it up!" she huffed, her hands on her hips as she spun and started walking away back towards the ballroom.

"w-what?" I asked a bit dazed. Weren't things going well just a second ago? "i didn't screw it up!"

"Puh-lease!" she drawled in an irritated tone. "Your whole approach involved pretending to act like a guy that I had shot down not twenty minutes ago!"

"i was being creative!" I growled, following after her retreating form. "you have to be creative when the girl you like is so dang naïve."

"I am not naïve!" she shot back.

"oh yes you are," I chuckled. "especially if you think i'm going to just let you walk away after all this, and wait for _next time_ ," I said finally catching up to her and spinning her back towards me.

Her eyes went wide for a moment, a bit disoriented to find herself suddenly facing me again. She stumbled into me gracelessly, and squeaked out an exasperated, "Sans!"

But all I could do was shrug unapologetically and grin, because she didn't pull away from me. "don't worry," I whispered, my arms wrapping around her, one hand trailing up her back, and into her hair. "i'm not gonna this screw up."

"I might," she whispered a bit breathlessly, her face flushed again. I leaned back slightly to examine her and her eyes met mine uncertainly. "This is usually the point in those dating games where I chose the wrong option or say the wrong thing and end up getting friendzoned," she explained in a frazzled rush of words. And despite all my best efforts I couldn't stop from bursting into a fit of laughter at that. She looked completely miserable at my reaction. "See!" she whined. "That's what I'm talking about! I'm fairly certain you're not supposed to be laughing right now!"

"it's not that," I insisted. "you're fine. it's just if anything i'm the one that's bad at this. you've been friendzoning me the last few years.

"Oh," she said softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I just thought you were always teasing me."

"yeah, i know kiddo. that was kinda the problem," I said with a wink. "but look, it's really not that complicated. there's really only two options at this point. either you kiss me or i kiss you. either way same end result. no friendzoning. unless we wanna argue about it for another six pages?'

"Pages?" she asked.

"eh, sorry. fourth wall breaking joke. couldn't resist."

"Hmm," she responded. "Well, I don't really wish to argue," she said, nervously reaching up to rest her hands on my shoulders.

"definitely better things we could be doing," I suggested with a wide grin.

In the end we both leaned forward at the same time, her mouth meeting my own without hesitation. Blue sparks of magic instantly fizzled to life, and the rate at which my senses suddenly became more astute was astounding. I could feel her eyes fluttering shut as she hummed pleasantly and melted against me, fitting so perfectly as if by design. I could feel the tingling sensation in my bones at every point that her body touched my own. And she was so soft, and sweet, and I would have been perfectly content for time to stop right there, or reset over and over at that moment an infinite amount of times just so I could relive it again and again. It was one event I would certainly never grow tired of. Because in that moment everything was exactly as I wanted it. It was everything I'd ever dreamed and hoped for.

But she did eventually pull away. It was a bit sooner than I would've liked, although I don't think any measure of time could've truly been enough for me. Still, I was almost equally content to feel her arms slide around my neck, clasping behind it as she rested her cheek against my sternum and let out a contented sigh. "So. Friendzoned for years huh? Who knew you were so resilient."

"heh. well, you are kinda my dreemuur girl."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Ugh. That was awful Sans," she insisted.

I shrugged. "Hey, at least it's not untrue."

She laughed musically for a second before her expression grew serious and she pulled away looking back towards the party. "I suppose I should head back inside. It would be a shame if I made no progress tonight with improving human and monster relationships."

"hey, from where I'm standing we've made plenty of progress there, sugar," I said with a laugh.

She blanched at the statement and flushed scarlet, her wide eyes looking at me bewildered. "I meant for work!" she insisted.

"yeah, yeah. 'course ya did. well, wouldn't want to keep you from all that work. maybe i can help ya a bit this time?" I said offering her my arm. She gladly accepted it and we walked back towards the ballroom, where soft music could be heard playing from within.

"What did you have in mind exactly?" she asked suspiciously.

"i was thinking I might try and take a crack at kander for ya," I said, a slight flash of blue lightening my vision.

"Don't," she admonished firmly. Then on a lighter note she added, "be good, Sans, and maybe I'll dance with you later."

I perked up slightly at the prospect and grinned. "that would be nice. maybe after the story's over though. we've already met the cliche quota for this particular story, and dancing at a ball would just put us way over the top."

"Story?" she queried in confusion.

"eh, fourth wall, again. nothing to worry bout kid. come on now. let's get this party over with."

**Author's Note:**

> And done. FINALLY. Hope you enjoyed it! Again, I highly recommend you check out tekitourabbit's stuff on DA. 
> 
> As for _this_ particular story... Ugh! I don't know what is wrong with Frisk and Sans! I seriously could not get them to kiss! And in the end they still had to bicker about it forever before they actually went through with it! Seriously, this story refused to go where I wanted it to. I wrote 95% of it a month ago, but that last part just would not work! I'm still not sure if I'm that satisfied with this piece. There are lines of it that I really like, and I thought the scenario was funny but I worry it came across a bit forced at times. I picked at it forever trying to make the conversations flow naturally and not appear unrealistic, but I'm not sure it came across as well as I planned. My version of a naive Frisk was a bit unbelievable to me. It comes across great in SecuriTale though. Anyway, thanks to tekitourabbit for letting me borrow the Sans and Frisk from this particular universe for my own literary exercise. Hopefully I didn't do their characters too much injustice. 
> 
> And thanks to everyone for reading! Please let me know your thoughts by leaving me a comment, and hopefully I'll post some more stuff soon!
> 
> ~Tengu


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